Maurizio Pecoraro

Was Maurizio Pecoraro's spring show a case of trickle-down cross-seepage, or just plain déjà-vu? Anyone who had already studied Marc Jacobs' showi.e., everyone with an eye on the latest newswould have clocked a certain similarity between Pecoraro's curvy runway on stilts and something MJ had built just a couple of weeks ago. As for the clothes that were shown on it, they rang bells, too: some originally pealed by Marni, others by Prada, with the top notes layered on by Jacobs himself.

Marc-meets-Marni is an accurate enough reading of where the light-and-layered, beige-and-linen trend is going this season. And Pecoraro's piecesbrown cotton raised-waist smocks over dresses over leggings, sometimes topped with linen swing dusterscaptured all that. Some of these, finished with hand-tucked bodices and vintage-looking lace, even had a personal feel. Too often, though, the overreferential styling and presentation ended up drowning out any individuality he might have to offer.